Wedding Budget Ideas: Where to Spend and Where to Save

*This is a collaborative post on wedding budget ideas  

After getting engaged, your first step in planning your wedding should be to create a budget that you and your partner can adhere to. While many of us dream about having a lavish do, you may not have the funds to back up your ideas, so it’s important that you create a budget that helps you spend within your means. This includes choosing what’s important to you. So if having photo booth rental in Fort Worth is important it should go into your budget. Or if the food is the most important thing to you then reflect this in your budget.

The last thing you want is not to keep track of your spending and end up swimming in debt as soon as your marriage begins. So, to help you get the most for your money, here are some areas where you can spend and where you should save for your wedding day.

Work Out Your Finances

Your first port of call before drawing up your wedding budget is to work out your finances. Tracking your income and outgoings will help you know what you can realistically afford to spend on your big day. To make things easier, you can use wedding resources like forbetterforworse.co.uk where you’ll find the ultimate wedding budget guide. For Better For Worse are experts in all things weddings, such as what entertainment, music, transport, and florists you will need for your special day.

Invest in a Wedding Planner

While you may see a wedding planner as an added expense, planning a wedding from start to finish can be an exhausting experience. Having someone with the expertise and knowledge in planning a wedding can take the weight off your shoulders and help keep stress levels at bay. From the beginning, your wedding planner will keep you informed and give advice and support to help ensure your special day is one to remember.

Choose the Right Venue

Another area of your wedding that you should spend more on is the venue. It’s important that you pick a location that matches your personality and taste, but whether you pick a church hall, manor house, or go down the DIY route and construct your own marquee, your wedding venue needs to accommodate all your guests and set the tone for the joyous occasion. Make sure to book your wedding venue well in advance, as they can get booked up and there is the possibility to save money.

Carefully Pick Your Catering

When it comes to hosting your wedding reception, it’s important that your guests’ culinary needs are well catered for. If you’re planning a big do, it’s likely that there will be guests with different dietary needs, so make sure that you take this into account before picking food suppliers. To cut corners and save money, you may prefer to do your own catering; however, this can be stressful and time-consuming, so you need to decide on whether you want to do everything yourself, or hire a catering company to take care of things.

Consider a Second-Hand Dress

With all eyes on you as you stroll down the aisle, it’s only natural that you will want to look your best. Your wedding dress should be an item of clothing that you look back on with fond memories, rather than dread. If you’re on a tight budget, you should consider a used wedding dress that looks as good as new and helps you feel glamorous and sophisticated. Wedding dresses can be incredibly expensive and eat up all your budget, so purchasing a pre-loved one can save you tons of money.

Reduce Your Guest List

All your family and friends will want to be by your side on your wedding day. If money is tight, inviting anyone and everyone may be off the cards. To help save you money on your wedding budget, reducing your guest list to your close circle will mean that those who matter the most are in attendance. While it can be difficult to sort out who you want there on your special day, it’s important that you put you and your partner’s needs before anyone else.

Choose Your Own Entertainment

Keeping your loved ones entertained on the dancefloor all night is important, so rather than shelling out on a DJ to take care of proceedings, you may prefer to make your own playlist that can be used. DJ’ing your own wedding can be a great way to save cash and allows you to be in full control of what music you want played. You need to remember that a DJ does far more than just push play, so if you don’t plan ahead, there could be problems that occur, such as poor sound or technical difficulties. If you’re choosing a wedding venue that has specialist equipment in-house, it’s important that you engage with them from the beginning and let them know what your plans are ahead of time.

Whether you have the cash to splash, or you’re on a tight budget, there are lots of factors to take into account to help you plan your dream wedding and avoid you getting into debt. Your wedding day doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, so using all the advice above can help you cut back and free up your budget which can be spent on other things.